Container for toothbrushes and related items



N. P. REED CONTAINER FOR TOOTHBRUSHES AND RELATED ITEMS July 30, 1963 Filed Jan. 16, 1961 36 22 30 I34 /6 2541 i i? IN V EN TOR.

AfTOEA/E United States Patent 3,099,273 CONTAINER FOR TOOTH-BRUSHES AND RELATED ITEMS Naomi P. Reed, RD. 4, Box 423, Altoona, Pa. Filed Jan. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 82,822 1 Claim. (Cl. 132-84) This invention relates to a container for toothbrushes and toothpaste or powder, and it particularly relates to a container of the aforesaid type which is especially adapted for convenience in traveling.

It is common knowledge that when traveling, one of the more difiicult items to pack is the toothbrush and toothpaste or powder. This is because the brush must he used at least once or twice a day and must be easily accessible during the trip or when staying overnight at a hotel or motel where complete unpacking is impractical. Furthermore, after use, the brush is wet and tends to drip onto the surrounding luggage if immediately repacked. This necessitates the carrying of the brush in a moisture-proof container or wrapping it in moistureproof material. The wrapping method is, however, bothersome and not overly effective while the containers heretofore in use have generally comprised two-part, telescopic sections which tend to come apart easily. In addition, these telescopic containers are suitable for holding only one brush and it therefore requires many individual containers when packing for a family.

Another difliculty heretofore encountered was that often there were no sanitary glasses available for drinking or rinsing the mouth after brushing, especially when traveling through relatively remote districts either in this or other countries.

It is one object of the present invention to overcome the above and other difiiculties by providing a container which is adapted to conveniently hold both toothbrushes and toothpaste or powder in a safe, secure and moistureproof manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container of the aforesaid type which is at least partly utilizaible as a drinking glass.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a container of the aforesaid type which is adapted to be easily and thoroughly cleaned to maintain its sanitary condition at all times.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide an improved container, of the character described, that is easily and economically produced, which is sturdy in construction, and which is highly efiicient in operation.

With the above and related objects in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of parts, as Will be more fully understood from the following description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of a container embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

Referring in greater detail to the drawing wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts, there is shown a container, generally designated comprising a fi'usto-conical base portion .12 and a frusto-conical cover portion 14. The base portion 12 is slightly up- 3,099,273 Patented July 30, 1963 wardly and outwardly tapered from an imperforate bottom 16 toward an open top 18.

The base portion 12 is externally threaded at 20 and is internally threaded at 22 around its open top .18. The external threads 20 are engageable with corresponding internal threads 24 at the open end of the frusto-conical cover portion 14. The cover portion 14 tapers upwardly and inwardly from its open end, thereby extending in reverse direction to base portion 12, and its upper end 26 is imperforate.

The internal threads 22 of the base portion 12 are engaged by external threads 28 on the outer periphery of a ring 30. This ring 30 is provided with a circular, hollow hub 32 having oppositely-extending radial arms 34 connecting it to the ring 30 proper. The radial arms 34 divide the ring into two half-segments, in each of which are provided three elongated slots 36. These slots 36 are integral with and extend radially inward from the ring 30 proper, and are each of a size to accommodate the stern of a standard toothbrush, such as indicated in dotted outline at 38 in FIG. 1. At the same time, the hollow hub 32 accommodates a standard size toothpaste tube, such as shown in dotted outline at in FIG. 1. The hub 32 may also accommodate the neck of a small container of tooth powder or the hub 32 may be made of a size and shape to accommodate the body of a tooth powder container.

The sections 12 and 14 of the container 10 and the ring 30 may all be constructed of a washable material such as polyethylene, cellulose acetate, poly vinyl chloride or any other desirable andpreferably unbreakable material. They may also be either transparent or translucent to permit viewing of the contents without opening the container or they may be of any desirable color.

The cover portion 14, when removed from the portion 12, may be used as a glass or cup either for drinking purposes or to rinse the mouth after brushing, and, by unscrewing the ring 30, the base portion 12 may also be used as a drinking glass or cup.

It is important to wash the container often enough to keep it in the desirable sanitary condition. This is easily accomplished by unscrewing the cover portion 14, unscrewing the ring 30 and separately washing the members 12, 14 and 30. The ring 30 is then replaced in threaded engagement with base portion 12 and thereafter the cover portion 14 is replaced to completely reassemble the unit.

With the above-described device, it is easy and simple to pack the toothbrush and toothpaste or powder for an entire family in one compact, sanitary, easily accessible unit.

Although this invention has been described in considera'ble detail, such description is intended as being illustrative rather than limiting, since the invention may be variously embodied, and the scope of the invention is to be determined as claimed.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

A combination pair of separable, different size drinking vessels and container for toothbrushes and related items comprising a large frusto-conical base portion having an open top and an imperforate bottom with the side wall tapering upwardly and outwardly from bottom to top, constituting one large size drinking vessel, a small frusto- 3 conical cover portion with an open bottom and imperforatetop constituting the other small size drinking vesscl, the side wall 'ofsaid cover portion tapering upwardly and inwardly from bottom to top, integral external threads on said base portion adjacent its top, complementary integral internal threads on said cover portion adjacent its bottom, said threads being releasably engageable with each other, internally extending integral threads within said lbase portion adjacent its top, a separable ring having external peripheral threads complementary to and engageable with said internal threads within said base portion, a hollow cincular hub mounted within said ring by oppositely extending radial arms to said ring, and peripherally located circurnferentially extending slots within said ring, said hollow circular hub providing means for steadying a toothpaste tu'be therewithin, each said slot providing means for steadying a toothbrush handle therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,507,466 Collins Sept. 2, 1924 2,082,834 Hofmann June 8, 1937 2,328,543 Baurnan Sept. 7, 1943 2,468,732 Boulicault May 3, 1949 2,562,496 Kirsch July 31, 1951 2,834,975 Perwas May 20, 1958 2,965,109 Borah Dec. 20, 1960 

